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Rick Perry indictment good for Chris Christie? Not a chance: Mulshine

Gov. Chris Christie meets Iowa voters in Marion

Chris Christie campaigning for president while pretending not to; unfortunately for our governor, this bogus indictment of Rick Perry will only strengthen Perry's standing inside the Republican Party.
(Andre Malok / The Star-Ledger)

I have long maintained that liberal journalists should not try to analyze conservative politics for a simple reason: If they were smart enough to understand conservatism then they wouldn't be liberals.

I find that theory confirmed by all the cheers emanating from the left upon the indictment of Texas Governor Rick Perry. Many left-wingers seem to think this somehow harms his shot at the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.

Nonsense. This could be the best thing that ever happened to a presidential candidate in recent memory.

Meanwhile it's bad news for Chris Christie.

The two are competing for the role of mainstream Republican candidate in the expected fight against Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who wants to return the party to its libertarian and anti-interventionist roots.

Far from harming Perry, this ridiculous indictment galvanized the entire Republican Party in his defense.Check this piece by Sarah Palin in which she states the obvious fact that this is a poorly managed hit job by liberal Democrats. Meanwhile at the National Review, John Fund has a piece on prior hit jobs by Democratic district attorneys in Texas who want to win in court what they lost at the ballot box.

And for a perspective from some top legal authorities who don't have an ax to grind, go to Volokh blog at the Washington Post and read Eugene Volokh's dismantling of the prosecution's case, as well as dissections by other lawyers, none of them favorable to the liberal Democrats behind this hit job on Perry.

The case is so laughably weak that only a liberal could take it seriously. If a governor can be charged with a crime for invoking his veto power, then politics will be paralyzed. No executive anywhere could make a decision without fear of indictment.

Meanwhile the district attorney in this case is perhaps the most odious villain to appear on the national scene in recent years. Never mind the legal details. You don't win the public's hearts and minds by getting blasted and driving around with a bottle of vodka as a passenger.

Perry will likely be coming out of this a big winner, perhaps right around the time the presidential primaries get going in earnest.

All of this is lost on our liberal friends who are busy crowing about what they think is a stain on Perry's reputation. Far be it from me to suggest that this Salon writer is an idiot.

Texas Governor Rick Perry has been trying to leapfrog New Jersey Governor Chris Christie for some time—but not like this. Instead of jumping past Christie in the 2016 GOP presidential race, Perry jumped past Christie in the criminal indictment sweepstakes, scoring on two counts—abuse of official capacity, a first-degree felony, carrying a penalty of 5 to 99 years in jail, and coercion of a public official, a third-degree felony, carrying a penalty of 2 to 10 years in jail. Both carry fines up to $10,000.

First note the way this numskull lists the severity of the offenses and the sentences attached. Hasn't he ever heard of "innocent until proven guilty?"

And the two cases have nothing in common. In the Texas case, there is not the slightest hint that Perry did anything corrupt or underhanded. What he did was open and above-board - and would be supported by 100 percent of GOP primary voters.

Meanwhile Christie is still being dogged by a scandal that raises questions about his integrity and truthfulness. Perhaps those questions will be resolved in his favor, but the jury's still out on that - literally.

Just what role Christie played in the closing of those lanes and the subsequent cover-up remains unknown. If the U.S. Attorney indicts any of the actors in Bridgegate then that story will be back in the news, perhaps with accusations against the governor flying as those under indictment lash out at him.

Meanwhile Perry gets to star as the innocent man being pursued by politically motivated prosecutors.

If I were he, I'd send that D.A. another bottle of vodka, along with a sincere thank-you note.